Curbed NY has a story up about P.S.85 in East Harlem that has the original 2005 rendering posted for the shuttered former public school building. Surprisingly, we actually think the dramatic glass addition on the top of the roof of a completely restored schoolhouse somehow looks like it could land in a few architectural magazines for its bold juxtaposition of historic and post-modern. The newer version stumbles because of the removal of the ornate cornice and parapet details which majestically crowns the original design and in turn makes this development look like one of the more generic contemporary buildings that have been built in the past decade. More details about this 90-unit adaptive reuse construction at 117th and 1st Avenue can be found on Curbed:
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New is better!
ReplyDeletefirst version is better, yes.
ReplyDeletedeveloper, please rethink your design and keep the original cornice.
do the right thing.
WOW! What a waste of air rights! The original renderings is so much better. When you put something modern over an historic building you want that juxtaposition to be very apparent. In my mind that option is more respectful of the historic character of the building.
ReplyDelete